Easy Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberries

Name: Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberries
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups buckwheat flour; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 cups milk; 2 eggs; 2 medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup); 4 tablespoons butter, melted; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons cooking oil; 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen); maple syrup and additional blueberries, for serving

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These banana buckwheat pancakes are a healthy, hearty breakfast made with whole grains and blueberries. If you want a more interesting and filling pancake that is also gluten-free, this easy recipe is for you.

stack of banana pancakes with blueberries

Buckwheat flour is an underappreciated grain that happens to make delicious pancakes. In French Canadian culture, it's used to make a specific type of pancake called ployes, which I often enjoyed as a kid at my grandparents' house. They often served them as a side to roast dinners, though I always liked them best topped with a little butter and sugar.

Those buckwheat pancakes were more like crepes, while this recipe, full of bananas and blueberries, is of the traditional American breakfast pancake variety. They're not the light and fluffy kind you get from a mix. Instead, they're more rustic and fruity.

Here are three reasons to give this banana buckwheat pancake recipe a try:

Buckwheat flour, which isn't actually flour but rather the ground seeds of the buckwheat plant, is more nutritious than white flour and includes more protein, fiber, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorous.
These pancakes are naturally gluten-free, but they still have the satisfying taste of grains rather than bland starch, as many gluten-free foods often do.
Bits of mashed banana are incorporated throughout the batter, keeping the pancakes moist and tender, along with the blueberries.

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🍌Ingredients
📖Variations
⏲️Instructions
🍳Equipment
🥞Top tip
💭FAQ
☕Pairing ideas
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

If you like unique breakfast recipes, try my Orange Ricotta Matzah Brie, Broccoli and Stilton Quiche, or Danish Aebleskiver Pancakes. Berry lovers will also want to check out my Strawberry Cream Soda and Blackberry Scones with Thyme.

🍌Ingredients

Although these pancakes are made with buckwheat flour, many of the other ingredients are similar to those in a standard recipe.

Key Ingredients

Buckwheat flour - Available in most grocery stores, buckwheat flour is a naturally gluten-free flour made from ground buckwheat plant seeds called groats. Technically speaking, it's not even flour. It's considered a pseudocereal. Bouchard Family Farms is a popular brand I often see in stores in New England. However, you want the buckwheat flour and not their ployes mix. If you have trouble finding it, look in the aisle with the other flours, the pancake mixes, or in a dedicated gluten-free section.
Bananas - You'll want medium-sized ripe bananas. Unripe bananas are not sweet enough and won't break down well when mashed. The simplest way to mash them is with a fork.
Blueberries - Either fresh or frozen are fine. But don't defrost the frozen blueberries unless you enjoy mushy pancakes.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and measurements.

📖Variations

Make them vegan - Use an equal amount of oil instead of butter and your preferred milk alternative instead of dairy milk. For the eggs, use 3 tablespoons of ground flax seed mixed with ½ cup of water. Let this sit for 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
Add cinnamon - A few pinches of cinnamon would make a nice flavor addition to the batter

⏲️Instructions

Here's how to make these banana buckwheat pancakes.

Whisk the buckwheat flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.

butter being stirred into pancake batter

In a second bowl, stir together the milk, melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Use a spatula to combine the two gently. Don't overmix. Lumps are fine. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

pancakes cooking on a griddle with blueberries

Heat your pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly coat with oil, then ladle a ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. Add blueberries.

When bubbles form in the center of the pancake, gently flip and cook for another couple of minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Hint: Add the blueberries by hand after pouring the batter onto the skillet instead of tossing them in the bowl with the batter, where they will sink to the bottom.

🍳Equipment

Nonstick pan - Although not essential, a nonstick pan helps make the pancakes easier to flip. But if you use a nonstick pan, use a plastic spatula to prevent scraping the pan's surface. I've ruined a few pans because of metal spatulas.

🥞Top tip

The first pancake or two is never perfect, and that's okay. As you cook more pancakes, keep an eye on the heat and adjust it as needed because the pan gets hotter over time. You'll also want to add more oil when the pan dries out.

closeup stack of buckwheat pancakes topped with blueberries and syrup

💭FAQ

What do buckwheat pancakes taste like?

They taste nutty and earthy compared to regular pancakes. Some also find buckwheat a little bitter. The addition of brown sugar helps balance out any bitterness.

Is it better to add pureed banana to pancake batter or just add sliced banana?

Pureed or mashed bananas will be more evenly distributed throughout the pancakes, while sliced bananas will remain intact where you place them. It's a matter of personal preference.

Can you make the pancake batter the night before?

Sure. Store it in a container in the fridge and gently stir the batter in the morning. If it has thickened, thin it back out with a splash or two of milk.